Air Namibia has responded to concerns raised by the business community over the recent upward adjustment of airfares between Windhoek and the northern town of Ondangwa.
The airline says that increased costs, including fuel, user charges and levies, as well as input costs, have forced the airline to up fares. “Air Namibia has been making losses since its inception, and the company is trying all possible avenues to improve its revenue and lessen the burden on the taxpayer,” said the airline. “Where opportunities to improve financial performance present themselves, we shall move on to optimise.”
It also explained that when it moved from 19-seater aircraft, to 37-seaters, a strategic decision was taken to stimulate demand and create a culture of flying in Namibia by introducing special fares, which were kept artificially low for two to three years. “Now that the demand is high and the culture of flying has set in, these lower special fares were removed. This means that we really only removed the introductory special fares and did not increase fares significantly.”
The airline says it will not increase fares any further and will monitor the market response and operating cost levels.
